What to read next

What is Legs Reading ...

Our Rating Scale

1* Did not like it at all would not recommend
2** An OK read just the once
3*** Liked it but it was an Average Read
31/2 *** Better than an Average Really enjoyed it :)
4**** Really liked it would recommend
4 1/2**** Loved it would recommend but not quite top of the list
5***** Loved it .. Would highly recommend it and has pride of place on my bookshelf

History It's Still hot 09

Books vs Movie Challenge 09

End of the World Reading Challenge II (09)

"Fly me to the MOON" 09

Arthurian Challenge 09

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:Grab your current read.Let the book fall open to a random page.Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!Please avoid spoilers

"Let us be more merciful. Let us get the arrogance out of our lives, the conceit, the egotism. Let us be more compassionate, gentler, filled with more forbearance, patience, forgiveness, and a greater measure of respect one for another."

Saturday, November 22, 2008

When a bid to seek out fame in New York City proves too much strain for the young writer to bear, she sinks into a deep depression and moves back to her hometown of Boston. Later, after undergoing electroshock therapy, the troubled Greenwood becomes increasingly suicidal.

Opening sentence - "It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenberg's, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York"

I really didn't know what to expect from this book and it was only after I read it I found out that it was a semi-autobiographical novel and that alot of the stories related even though the names where changed was actual periods of her life ...

I have to say that I loved the beginning of the book and thought it witty and well written .. But then half way through the book she begins to suffer from depression ... Which really this is the main feature of the book ... How you can look at someone who you think has the perfect life when in reality they are suffering with inner demons. The book is based in the 60's and shows to your horror how if you where suffering from a medical disorder whether it was suicide or depression how they where treated in the institutions ....

It is a sad story of a woman who has the world at her feet and could have achieved greatness but didn't know how to cope with the depression ... It is also sad that Sylvia herself committed suicide even though she was a successful poet and novelist in her own right leaving behind two young children ...

This book is not necessary a happy book but deals with issues that are still as important today as they where in the 60's.

I rate this book 3 stars ***

There are a number of movies of the Bell Jar one that was done in the 70's another one about the life of Sylvia Plath with

Gwyneth Paltrow and one that has been planned to be made this year ... With Screen starlet Julia Stiles assumes the role of ambitious reporter Ester Greenwood. There are songs that have been written about her as well ... I have included a link to Sparksnotes if you concerning this book for your book club which gives you questions and breaks down the book into chapters with study notes ... http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/belljar/

Friday, November 21, 2008

The Road is an unflinching meditation on the worst and the best that we are capable of: ultimate destructiveness, desperate tenacity, and the tenderness that keeps two people alive in the face of total devastation.

Opening sentence ... When he woke in the woods in the dark and the cold of the night he'd reach out to touch the child sleeping beside him.

I didn't really know what to expect with this book as I didn't really know alot about it ... But I have to say that I couldn't really put it down ... Even though the subject matter was disturbing in some parts I just wanted to keep reading ...

It is a story of a father and a son on a journey to find safely in a world that has been destroyed and where other survivors track and hunt you ....

It does raise alot of questions on if you where faced with the dilemma of only having 1 bullet left could you use it on your child in order to save him ?? The whole way through the book you are just wishing them to find some joy or happiness ... And one of my favourite bits is when they come across a coca cola can and the father sits back and lets his son drink it for the first time ... It was a very touching scene ..

It is interesting to note that we are never told the name of the boy or the father and we are never told on how the earth got into the state that it is in ... It could be war, it could be natural disaster, disease or just God’s intervention.

If the world suddenly came to an end and you where alone wanting to survive what would you do ... The father is a God fearing man and is put into situations where out of necessity he has to do things he would have never dreamed of doing ... He kills and even steals and beats up other men to survive the road BUT as he assures THE BOY - they are the good guys - and we believe him given the state of the world and what demons and monsters now exists out there. He’s a good guy !!!

This book has many lessons that we can learn and Staying on the Road is one of them ...

This book may not be pretty but it is a great read and one that I will re-read again ..

I rate this book 4 stars ****

This book is being made into a movie which is coming out later next year and I have also included a rare interview with the author Cormac McCarthy ....

Ok there are a few things that set my heart a flutter .. New Handbags .... New Shoes ... and New books ....

I went armed with a list ... And I have to admit it was quite a long list of new books I would like ... I got a few new books for the kids to read and a few for myself ...

It was quite funny I thought it would be easier to just go up to the sales assistant than me wandering around the book store ( And to be honest I had my hubby with me at the time and so time is short ... I could happily spend a whole day looking for books where on the other hand my Hubby was getting abit bored ... As he had looked at all the books in the specialist end ...) Armed with my list I started to go through novels .... Which the generally response was ... We don't have it here but we could order it ... By about the 20th book ... Yes the 20th I was about to give up when the sales assisted started to jump up and down and flap her arms around screaming ...

YES we have this one

... and then proceeded to run .... Yes ... Run to the recover the book ... It was quite funny ... Out of 35 books on my list ... I got wait for it ... 4 books ... I was abit disappointed but I think my hubby was relieved that are bank account will not be hit .... lol ...

I proceeded to the children's end and managed to pick up some books for the kids ... All in all it was a good wee day and I picked up some really good books ... But I am going to have to order in the rest .... :(

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:Grab your current read.Let the book fall open to a random page.Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!Please avoid spoilers

"They sat on the embankment and waited. Nothing moved. He handed the pistol to the boy. You take it, Papa, the boy said. No. That's not the deal. Take it."

Sunday, November 16, 2008

What is there to say about a novel in which a young boy shares a lifeboat with a fully grown Bengal tiger named Richard Parker? If the book is Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, there’s quite a lot to be said. The story it tells is so profound and moving that the more enlightened readers will get behind its many oddities to the message at its core.The book is, of course, the story of Pi (short for Piscine), an Indian teenager whose father runs a zoo. Much of the book’s first section is a detailed description of the minutiae of zoo-keeping, including several lessons about the connection between man and animal that come into play later in the novel.Eventually, the family – which, in addition to Pi and his father, includes a mother and brother -- decides to move to Canada, taking much of its menagerie with it. Along the way, the ship sinks, stranding Pi on a lifeboat with the aforementioned Richard Parker, along with a few other zoo animals (who, it should come as no surprise, quickly disappear as their voyage progresses). As Pi desperately searches for a place to call home, he and his feline companion form an uneasy truce, and embark on a series of unforgettable adventures that include, among other things, a blind Frenchman and a man-eating island covered in meerkats. There’s also passage upon passage explaining how Pi and his friend manage to combat the twin demons of thirst and hunger without turning on each other.

Opening sentence : This Book was born as I was hungry.

I really don't know what I was expecting with this book and I have had it on my book shelf now for abit but started to read it for one of the book challenges I am in. And I am so glad that I did. It is a great wee read ...

I liked it that much that I actually took some notes along the way ... It is written beautifully and you cannot help but get drawn in ...

Pi is a really likable character and at the beginning of the book goes in search for religion ... Where he stumbles across Hindi, Islam and Christian belief's ... He takes abit from each religion and during his journey on the sea's relies heavily on God .... There is a funny bit in the story where his older brother says ... he might try to become a Jew too. "At the rate you're going, if you go to temple on Thursday, mosque on Friday, synagogue on Saturday and church on Sunday, you only need to convert to three more religions to be on holiday for the rest of your life."

I loved all the stories about the animals and actually learnt quite abit ... I thought when I read the back cover that it was going to be abit boring and long (I admit that I thought it was going to be like the Man and Sea - which I watched with my father years ago the whole 3 hours worth ... because I actually thought it would get better which it didn't) But thankfully this book is nothing like that ... I was really enjoying the stories.

The book's final pages include a revelation that brings the rest of Pi's fantastic story into question ...... At the heart of the book is man's relationship to animals and his relationship to God.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:Grab your current read.Let the book fall open to a random page.Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!Please avoid spoilers

"I noticed all the other fish had vanished from around the raft and boat. No doubt they had sensed the dorado's distress. I hurried. It's struggling would attract sharks. But it fought like a devil. My arms were aching."

Monday, November 10, 2008

A language kept a secret for a thousand years forms the backdrop for an unforgettable novel of two Chinese women whose friendship and love sustains them through their lives.

This absorbing novel – with a storyline unlike anything Lisa See has written before – takes place in 19th century China when girls had their feet bound, then spent the rest of their lives in seclusion with only a single window from which to see. Illiterate and isolated, they were not expected to think, be creative, or have emotions. But in one remote county, women developed their own secret code, nu shu – "women's writing" – the only gender-based written language to have been found in the world. Some girls were paired as "old-sames" in emotional matches that lasted throughout their lives. They painted letters on fans, embroidered messages on handkerchiefs, and composed stories, thereby reaching out of their windows to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments.

An old woman tells of her relationship with her "old-same," their arranged marriages, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood—until a terrible misunderstanding written on their secret fan threatens to tear them apart. With the detail and emotional resonance of Memoirs of a Geisha , Snow Flower and the Secret Fan delves into one of the most mysterious and treasured relationships of all time—female friendship.

Well isn't it a pretty cover .... I have to say that I did enjoy this book ... A look into the life as a Chinese woman in 1830's. Lily is the main character who at the beginning of the book is ninety years old and is reflecting on her life ...

She starts telling you life as a 6 year old and how she is the second daughter in the family and how she is worthless as she is just a girl basically just another mouth to feed according to her family .... Her life is changed when the matchmaker tells her parents that she is special and that she will have good feet .... ( A girl who has good feet after being bound is highly valued) And could marry into a promenade family which will not only help her but also her family ...

She makes a life long friend in Snow Flower her Lagtong as they are called and communicate throughout their lives in a secret language which only woman can read ...

This book tells of their dreams and their lives as each goes in different directions ... I was fascinated to read about this language as it actually does exist ... It was intriguing to read the different laws and rules that woman have to follow their whole life's ... How and why they bind their feet? .... And how from the young age of 6 you learn to OBEY know matter what !!!

I enjoyed the book on life has a Chinese woman and was grateful that as a child I just learned to play and be young instead of having to always try and prove my worth !!!

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Beginning in 1940, as Italy prepares to attack Greece and enter the Second World War on the side of the Germans, Captain Corelli's Mandolin tells the story of Pelgia, the beautiful young daughter of Dr Iannis. Engaged to Mandras, a handsome young fisherman, Pelagia is left alone when war intervenes and Mandras enlists. Following the invasion of the island by the Italians, Captain Antonio Corelli, a young and far from fanatical artillery captain with a passion for music, is billeted with Pelagia and her father. As the Italian occupiers and Greek islanders begin to come to terms with each other, so Pelagia's love for Mandras falters and her affection for the charming and civilised Corelli grows. As an increasingly bestial war comes closer and closer, Corelli and Pelagia find themselves united by their love but divided by their nationality and by the savagery of war.

I had forgotten just how much I really like this book .... I re-read it for the 1% challenge and was so glad that I did ...

It is funny in parts and Louis de Bernieres style of writing is so vivid at times that you actually feel that you are there ... He describes the horrors of war brilliantly that you are apoured by what men can be capable of ....

The love affair with Pelagia and the Captain is beautiful ........ And one of my favourite bits is when the father is talking to his daughter about love and says :

"Love is a temporary madness, it erupts like volcanoes and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is."Ahhhhhhhhhh.... Ok I am just a romantic at heart ...

There is abit of language in it and some of the descriptions of the war scenes are awful but isn't war supposed to be horrible ...

Well I am so glad that I have picked this book up again and will not leave it to long next time to pick it up again ...

I rate this book 41/2 ****

I am leaving you with Pelagia's song .... It is beautiful and haunting from the Movie "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" This is something that I enjoyed in the movie was to hear the mandolin and the music ..... Enjoy ...

Friday, November 7, 2008

Following on from the success of the hardcover edition and in the style of the phenomenally successful 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, this is a bold, bright and incisive guide to the books and writers that have had real impact; whether in the form of critical acclaim or as cult favourites. This wide-ranging selection by a superb international team of writers and critics features classics as well as more contemporary works. This must-have book is the perfect reference for everyone who loves to read.

I have accepted the challenge and will pick 10 books to read out of the 1001 books to read before you die and have them read before February 2009 .... You can join in or just follow the link below:

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Wuthering Heights is Emily Brontes only novel. It was first published in 1847 under the pseudonym Ellis Bell, and a posthumous second edition was edited by her sister Charlotte. The name of the novel comes from the Yorkshire manor on the moors on which the story centres (as an adjective, wuthering is a Yorkshire word referring to turbulent weather). The narrative tells the tale of the all-encompassing and passionate, yet thwarted, love between Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw, and how this unresolved passion eventually destroys them and many around them.Now considered a classic of English literature

OK lovin the cover .... But not really lovin the book ...

This is the first of the classics that as a book club we are doing .... And I have to say I had to wade through this novel ...

I found the first few chapters boring but then once Ellen started to tell the story of Catherine and Heathcliff it got alot better ... Although I have to say I couldn't really make head nor tale of what Joseph was saying ... Even thought I have family in Yorkshire and have visited the moors and Lee's many times and was trying to image in my head the yorkshire ascent, I found I just I glossed over what he said ...

It is a very tragic tale ... And I found it really depressing ... There is no real joy in the book at all really ... People are either dying, depressed, angry or going to die ... A cheery read !!!

But to be honest I am glad that we have the opportunity to read it ... It does highlight social classes and how your ill treatment of others can rub off on them to ill treat others ...

At times I was so frustrated at Catherine she played a game with heathcliff's feelings and had no thought for anyone except herself ... And when she died she left a terrible mess of misery that would continue for many years to come ...

I do have a couple of favourite lines from the book ....

"My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods. Time will change it, I'm well aware, as winter changes the trees - my love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath - a source of little visible delight, but necessary."

Is Mr. Heathcliff a man? If so, is he mad? And if not, is he a devil? I sha'n't tell my reasons for making this inquiry; but I beseech you to explain, if you can, what I have married . . .

" . . . he's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same, and Linton's is as different as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire."

Ok whether you love the book or hate you should at least read it once in your life .... And if you love it which I have a load of friends you do you will re-read it often ...

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

This paperback edition of the popular hardback combines three of Dr. Seuss's most endearing tales - "The Sleep Book", "Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose" and "Horton Hears a Who!" Written in humorous rhyme and illustrated with characteristically bold and colourful artwork by the master himself, this beautiful treasury is guaranteed to delight young children and bring sweet dreams! Dr. Seuss's "Sleep Book" is full of wonderful yawning creatures who spread sleep thoughts at bedtime - and much more fun than counting sheep - this charming story provides the perfect remedy for children who don't want to go to bed. "Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose Thidwick" is only too happy that his antlers "can be of some use" to a menagerie of animals who move in and make them their home. But soon his guests go too far and start to endanger the very life of their generous host. "Horton Hears a Who!": this enchanting tale tells the story of Horton the Elephant who comes to the rescue of the tiny inhabitants of a speck of dust - after all, "a person's a person, no matter how small".

Well I was totally brought up with Dr. Seuss as a child ... And as I have grown older with kids of my own I still love the stories ... They are the best and this book has three stories in one ....

The Sleep Book - Which I have lost count how many times I have read this ... When my daughter was little it was the only book that I read that actually put her to sleep and had me yawning as well !!!! A great book and children just love the characters and the pictures if they can stay awake that long to look at them ... ha

Thidwick the big-hearted moose - This story is one of my daughters favourites and she doesn't get tired of me reading it to her ... She thinks it is so funny ...

Horton Hears a Who - This is one of my sons favourite stories and was so excited that it got made into a movie .... It also teaches children the value of one and that everyone is important ...

I love the Dr Seuss range and it also helps with children's language skills as it is in a rhyming form ... Plus the extra bonus of being loads of fun ... Stories that I have read a thousand times but still never get tired of ....

I rate this Book 5 *****

Here is the trailer for Horton Hears a Who .... A funny movie if you haven't seen it ...

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:Grab your current read.Let the book fall open to a random page.Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!Please avoid spoilers

"When a girl, obey your father; when a wife, obey your husband; when a widow, obey your son." I had heard this my entire life, so I was not intimidated. But my mother-in-law taught me another axiom one day, when she was aggravated with her husband: "Obey, Obey, Obey, then do what you want"

Monday, November 3, 2008

When twenty-eight-year-old Lexi Smart wakes up in a London hospital, she's in for a big surprise. Her teeth are perfect. Her body is toned. Her handbag is Vuitton. Having survived a car accident—in a Mercedes no less—Lexi has lost a big chunk of her memory, three years to be exact, and she's about to find out just how much things have changed. Somehow Lexi went from a twenty-five-year-old working girl to a corporate big shot with a sleek new loft, a personal assistant, a carb-free diet, and a set of glamorous new friends. And who is this gorgeous husband—who also happens to be a multimillionaire? With her mind still stuck three years in reverse, Lexi greets this brave new world determined to be the person she…well, seems to be. That is, until an adorably disheveled architect drops the biggest bombshell of all. Suddenly Lexi is scrambling to catch her balance. Her new life, it turns out, comes complete with secrets, schemes, and intrigue. How on earth did all this happen? Will she ever remember? And what will happen when she does?

Well they say when you find a good wee author you should stick to it .... And this is know exception ...

If you love Chick Lit books you will love these ... This is quite a funny book but not my favourite of her novels ... Although there is still quite alot of laugh out loud moments ...

If you thought one day you would wake up and everything that you ever hoped for came true would you be happy? Is the grass as green as you thought it was ????

Although I only rated this book 3 it is still Sophie Kinsella and I just love her books ....

Saturday, November 1, 2008

After a string of disastrous dates, Emily Albright decides she’s had it with modern-day love and would much rather curl up with Pride and Prejudice and spend her time with Mr. Darcy, the dashing, honorable, and passionate hero of Jane Austen’s classic. So when her best friend suggests a wild week of margaritas and men in Mexico with the girls, Emily abruptly flees to England on a guided tour of Jane Austen country instead. Far from inspiring romance, the company aboard the bus consists of a gaggle of little old ladies and one single man, Spike Hargreaves, a foul-tempered journalist writing an article on why the fictional Mr. Darcy has earned the title of Man Most Women Would Love to Date.The last thing Emily expects to find on her excursion is a broodingly handsome man striding across a field, his damp shirt clinging to his chest. But that’s exactly what happens when she comes face-to-face with none other than Mr. Darcy himself. Suddenly, every woman’s fantasy becomes one woman’s reality. . . .

This is the first of Alexandra Potter books I have read and I quite like it ... It was a light and easy read after Wuthering Heights ....

My only downfall for this book is that I had a problem with the use of language in it ... I lost count how many times the "S" word was mentioned ... But if you can bypass that it actually is a great wee book and really funny at times ....

There are so many comments about other books in this novel that Emily ( the heroine in the story ) refers to ... That makes it an endearing read ....

What would you do if you found yourself face to face with Mr Darcy ..... Is he all that we imagine him to be ???????? If you've ever dreamed of what it would be like to meet Mr. Darcy, this book is for you.

At the heart of the book, Emily must decide whether her fantasy is one that she really does want to live, or if her idealized view of men by way of Mr. Darcy is indeed too good to be true.

This is a funny wee book and I read it in a couple of days .... It is an easy read and would be perfect for a holiday or beach read ....

The only reason I am not giving this 4 stars is because of the swear words .... To me there where just to many of them ... But if you can blank them out as I can ... It is a great wee story ...

Comments

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